


Exchange

by mmmdraco



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-30
Updated: 2012-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-13 04:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hikaru, this is your friend who will be staying with us for a while, right?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exchange

**Author's Note:**

  * For [troisroyaumes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/troisroyaumes/gifts).



Hikaru glares at the man beside him and says in his barely coherant Korean, "Be nice. She _is_ my mother."

And Ko returns the glare with his eyes, but pastes a ridiculous grin on the rest of his face as he bows to Shindou Mitsuko and offers her the gift he's brought along for just this purpose. She sets it off to the side and returns his bow. "Hikaru, this is your friend who will be staying with us for a while, right?"

"Yeah, Mom. It's this stupid exchange thing. I didn't want to get you involved, but they wanted one more person and it's just my luck that this is the guy I got paired with. So, if he does or says something stupid, let me know and I'll kill him, okay?"

"Oh, he seems like a perfectly nice boy."

Hikaru glares at Ko again. Nice boys did not go around insulting masters of strategy and wearing their hair with a _flip_ in it or wearing suits that looked like they'd been purchased wherever Ogata did his shopping. He tries out his Korean again. "Did you bother to learn any Japanese before coming here?"

So of course the bastard replies in lightly accented but otherwise perfect Japanese, "Shindou-san, your home is lovely. Almost as lovely as you are. I will endeavor not to be a burden on you while I am visiting."

Shindou watches his mother blush. Blush! He grabs one of Ko's bags and drags it with him upstairs to the guest room. "Bring the rest of your stuff!"

It's a long while before Ko decides that he's settled in enough (meaning that his suitcase is unpacked and his futon is ready) to make his way, with Hikaru, to the Nihon Ki-in to check in. Hikaru is thinking of potential ways to get out of this whole thing the entire time that they are riding the train, which isn't that long _really_ , but it's enough time to wonder if he can get the Korean guy to fall in love with someone and decide to move _out_ of the guest room across the hall and into some love nest where Hikaru would only have to see him for the requisite games for this International Youth program that had them all switching back and forth to learn the customs and languages of the other countries participating. Hikaru will be staying for three weeks in Korea once Ko left, but it would be his luck that he would have to stay in Ko's house there. 

Ko trails him silently the whole way to the Ki-in and Hikaru is just waiting for him to say something to rile Hikaru up, whether it's insulting Hikaru's clothes or saying something about Shuusaku or just... _breathing_! But for all that Hikaru is ready for the fight, it doesn't come. They make it inside and sign in and Hikaru does his job of showing Ko around (waiting for more insults that never come), and then somehow they're setting up for a game.

It occurs to Hikaru that the only games they've really played before have been all about just straight competition. And Hikaru's had enough time now to realize that he is weak in competition because he forgets about strategy there in the beginning and ends up playing like it's some mad dash for a finish line instead of something he should think through completely. But he's been betting on games with Akira lately, even if it is just for who will buy drinks from the vending machine, so he's getting better.

As they play, Hikaru realizes that he doesn't hate Ko when they aren't going out of their way to rile each other up. His go is smooth but exciting and it complements the go that Hikaru plays. It isn't the explosive play that he and Akira have nearly perfected in the last few years, but it's the kind of game he won't regret playing whether he wins or loses and he really can't say that about _too_ many games because there always seems to be at least one move that he questions for days and days until he can finally push it enough from his mind to move on to other things. 

"Is there anything you want to do while you're in Japan?" Hikaru finds himself asking as he takes control of the right side of the board.

Ko rubs at the stone between his fingers and stares at the formation of stones. "I'd like to see Tokyo Tower if we have the time. And maybe some botanical gardens. I like flowers."

And Hikaru snorts. "Really? Hmm... Do you like ikebana?" There's a pause as Ko seems to be trying to figure out the word, so Hikaru continues. "It's traditional Japanese flower arranging or something."

"Ah, yes. We have something similar in Korea."

"My mom had some flyer for an exhibition this weekend. We could go. Maybe invite along some of the other people in the program? I mean, it _is_ supposed to be about exchanging cultures and language and all of that stuff, so..." Hikaru swallows as he sees the look Ko is giving him. "Well, it could be fun, right?"

Ko finally places his stone and Hikaru scowls at it because it has cut him off from the move he'd hoped to play. "I suppose it could be," Ko finally says.

Hikaru looks at Ko again. Really looks. And he wonders... "We can skip asking everyone else this time. I mean, no one else would even like it, would they?" Hikaru extends his reach in one of the corners instead.

"But you would?"

"Yeah! I love classic stuff!" And Hikaru does. He loves samurai and go and calligraphy and ninjas and a lot of other things that seem to define his country to him thanks to Sai and to Shonen Jump.

Ko looks Hikaru over and smiles. "You don't seem the type. But you are someone who gets all bent out of shape about someone putting down Shuusaku."

And Hikaru clutches at his stones and thinks that this is it. This is the moment that he is going to turn into a serial murderer. At some point in the future, Ko will be a ghost teaching some kid about go because Hikaru is going to get his blood all over this go ban. "Su-yeong tried to tell me something about that. That is was some big misunderstanding?"

Leaning back, Ko said in Korean, "Language barrier," and it takes Hikaru a moment to puzzle out the words even though he swears he has been studing Korean back and forth with Akira for months now. But he gets it finally and it all kind of makes sense.

Hikaru turns most of his mind back to the game at hand, but looks up briefly to say, "But, dude, do not make my mom blush again. That was creepy."

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended to be a gift drabble... that quickly grew out of control. The idea is stolen from a request wish list that Qem pointed me toward. XD


End file.
